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Iranwire – The Iranian judiciary says a shipment of gold bullion linked to Babak Zanjani is currently in Customs custody and does not qualify as smuggling.
At a press conference, judiciary spokesperson Asghar Jahangir said that while no assets were initially identified in Zanjani’s case, a portion of his holdings was later introduced and evaluated by a task force composed of representatives from multiple institutions.
He stated that some of these assets have been transferred into the country and handed over to the Central Bank.
Jahangir added that the National Iranian Oil Company remains the main plaintiff in the case, and the Central Bank was later appointed as the “trustee of the assets.” He said that no furloughs were granted to Zanjani prior to the asset transfers, and members of the task force confirmed that the value of the identified assets exceeded Zanjani’s total debt.
The judiciary spokesperson criticized the Central Bank’s recent position on the case, calling it “lacking technical basis.” He said official warnings had been issued to the Central Bank’s governor.
Jahangir also warned Babak Zanjani to avoid making what he described as “provocative remarks.”
On the issue of Zanjani’s gold shipment, Jahangir said, “The documents for this shipment were not forged, and it is currently in the custody of Customs.”
He explained that a branch of the Organization for the Prosecution of Economic Offenses (Ta’zirat) issued a non-prosecution ruling, finding that the shipment did not qualify as smuggling.
However, according to Jahangir, the Central Bank’s deputy for foreign exchange affairs had sent a letter to Customs arguing that the bullion failed to meet legal standards due to insufficient purity and weight, and therefore must be returned.
